A Look toward this weekend's Cadets camp

by
Drum Corps International

Good Morning. It is 9 a.m. and I'll be going into work at 10:30 a.m. I work a double today, but I don't care because tomorrow morning, I'll be flying to New York to spend the day with my sister before I go to camp on Friday. I've been down in Florida for three months now, but I'm pretty sure my body adjusted to the weather the minute I stepped on the plane.

Paula Hyman (left) and partner-in-crime Laura Westmoreland.

We have a camp this weekend, and another on April 22 -- that is it before move-in. Two more camps until we're in for good. How awesome is that? Anyway, the Crossmen also have camp this weekend, so we will be rehearsing across the street from each other. I'm excited for ensemble, since we will both be performing our shows for Alumni and volunteers. Hopefully we'll get to sit in the audience and listen when we're not playing! Now, this weekend we will be learning more drill. The twist? No more indoor facility – we're moving outside this time! Of course that is awesome, but the only downside is that it will be 2 degrees out there. Well, probably not 2 degrees, but maybe somewhere around 50. And hey, 50 degrees for four hours is going to be awesome. Once we get moving, it won't be so bad, and let me tell you – we'll definitely be moving, that's for sure. We got the rest of our closer during this little break between camps, which means we now have the entire show. We haven't been this far ahead in quite some time, so it's a good feeling. On yea.org, we have a forum where both fans and members can post -- just like many other corps. There is a particular section that is for members only, and the other night one of our new guys posted some questions that he had for the vets -- your basic tour and dot book kind of stuff. It reminded me of when I was a rookie, and didn't know anything. All these things that are second nature to me now, I had no idea where to start with back in the day. It can get pretty confusing in the beginning. You don't want to bring the wrong stuff, or do anything wrong, but you do anyway -- and then you learn from it. I didn't use half of the stuff I brought on tour my first year. I guess I should have asked more questions. Anyway, I'd like to say thanks to those people who helped me out when I was a rookie -- you know who you are, so thank you! One thing I'll never forget is what it's like to be new. It can be pretty scary -- you don't know what to expect. So, the best advice I can give to any rookie out there is to ask lots of questions -- vets were rookies too, once, and they are here to help you. We've gone through it a few times and will make sure you don't make the same mistakes we did our first year! Or maybe we won't, whaha! Just kidding. Speaking of mistakes, let's talk about my tan lines from my rookie year. Yikes. I didn't realize that I could bring things like bathing suit tops, or that I should be moving the straps around on my sports bra to even my lines out. I figured it all out by the end, thanks to my old section leader, but still -- I laugh looking back on that and I know she does too. My second year, I had that stuff figured out, but there was a rookie girl in the lead mellos who seemed to have my same problem from the year prior. I guess the cycle needed to be continued. She stood in between me and my former section leader in the arc and I remember we just started laughing and enlightened her on this whole tan line thing. Reminded me of myself the year before! Crazy stuff. Anyway, she had it all figured out the next year too. There's a new one every year, but I don't have time to talk about any more kids with bad tan lines, and I'm sure you don't want to hear about anymore. I am looking forward to that "drum corps body" though. In a way, drum corps is like fat camp, only you get to eat whatever you want and as much of it as you'd like and you get really tan. Last week I saw one of my old friends from high school. She asked me if I was still marching Cadets and then she asked some more questions. You know, the typical ones drum corps people get asked. This is sort of what the conversation went like. Friend: So, they pay you to do this, right?Me: Actually, we pay them.Friend: Well where do you sleep?Me Nine times out of 10, we sleep on random high school gym floors.Friend HahaMe: Yeah that whole hotel thing was just a rumor.Friend: So how long do you rehearse for?Me:Almost every day ranging anywhere from 6-12 hours, sometimes more.Friend:OMG I WOULD DIE.Me: Yep. Alright, I_ve got to get out of here. Time for work! I'll have a full camp report next week. Thanks for reading! Paula Hyman is a fourth-year member of the Cadets where she is the mellophone section leader. She is 20 years old and currently single. Originally from South Florida, Paula recently made the move to Allentown, Pa., to work for YEA!, the umbrella organization of the Cadets, Crossmen and the U.S. Scholastic Band Association. She ages out in 2006.